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Pillars of Support – Do You Believe it Can Happen?

Who do you tell your hopes and dreams to? Who do you feel comfortable putting it all out there, saying something that you know may make you sound totally insane, crazy, off-the-wall, even egocentric?

When there is something niggling in your mind, a far-reach; do you actually voice that little hope, the dim glint that lurks in the back of your brainspace? Sometimes yes, sometimes no, would be my honest answer. Do I sound like a politician or what?

I think in life we always have those things we ‘wish’ would come true, would like to see happen, and they change over time. Along the way the plausability of such things also gets shifted into perspective. This can be a good thing, I mean there is a point where you don’t want every kid to believe they can in fact be president, it’s not possible, and you don’t want Little Jimmy to fall into a fit when he comes to that realization.

Though to another degree you don’t want to live a life where you have built your own glass ceiling. So it’s a matter of deciding just how much a certain goal or thing means to you. Then it’s probably smart to have at least one place of support where you can voice what’s rolling through your brain to; they can then help you decide if it’s worth plunging full bore into. But choose that support system wisely, and also remember that in the end you have to do what’s right for you.

Who is your pillar of support?

I’m seeing this a lot lately with some various training groups; many people don’t think they can actually run. Think they will never cover a 5k distance, never be able to complete a full 10k without walking. But I want to tell them that your mind is often your biggest limiting factor. Don’t look too long at the place you want to end up; instead take one step ahead and focus on taking the next step.

I guess this also is running through my mind lately because I’m now able to hang around and see one of the people who has been one of my biggest pillars of support. She was a person who helped keep me sane and hopeful after my accident and she was also a safe sounding board. I vented, I updated her, I told her all the crazy things that were rolling around in my brain and she didn’t judge. When I told her I’d cut off my leg and get a prosthetic if that’s what it took to get back to running she listened and understood. She didn’t tell me I was an idiot; though she told me that she believed it wouldn’t come down to that, but if it did she’d be right there backing me up.

Pillars of support. We have to believe in ourselves if we are ever able to do anything but I also have lived a lot by the ‘fake it til you make it’ philosopy, and a part of that is finding a person that YOU trust so much and believe in, that if they tell you they think it is true or can happen, then I take it as fact and go forward. That’s how it was in the past with some of my coaches; if they told me I was capable of running such-and-such, even if I may not have had full faith in myself, I had more than full faith in them and so I forced myself to believe. From there it usually happened.

Find those pillars and then never let them go. Finally, make sure to be just as strong for those pillars when their time comes. So, do you voice that crazy, insane, maybe-I’m-loco thought?

10 thoughts on “Pillars of Support – Do You Believe it Can Happen?”

love this. i feel like i can tell my dad anything. even if its crazy. he was the first person i called last year and told i was going to run a marathon. i thought he would laugh or just be like “okay…good luck with that.” but he was extremely supportive and planned from that second to be there on that day. as much as i love and miss having him by my side all the time. i think this past weekend’s race was incredibly important for me. i experienced at SO many times my mind as a limiting factor. over and over again i told myself that i could not do it alone but it was really important that i did. its great for other people to believe in you but you have to believe in yourself too!

u’re dad sounds like an amazing man! but i think u state it best in the end of this: “its great for other people to believe in you but you have to believe in yourself too!” and i think that’s another reason why i luv running so much, when it comes down to it, YOU have to will yourself to get ‘er done!! great job out there, u are amazing!! 🙂

You are totally right on them ind being someone’s biggest limiting factor. When I started running I couldn’t even make it to half a mile. Someone lectured me on the whole mind over matter thing and the next week I ran 3 miles. I was in absolute heaven. At the time 3 miles to me was crazy far and I was so proud of myself!

Having supportive pillars is so important in an area of life. Dean gets me…everything about me. So he’s usually the one I shoot all my thoughts and ideas to!

Yeah, seriously… the mind is such a HUGE factor in running… in fact, I’d say it’s about 75% a mind game. And it’s so important to have the support. I’d say that for most of my life it’s been my sister, Cec, and also my mom. And, now my biggest fan and supporter is my husband. One time I turned off my alarm and rolled over in the bed, bc it was cold and dark and early and he just said all sleepily and groggy… “Go get ’em, Champ!” That’s all it took. I was up and on my run and loving it. It’s funny the difference having someone to cheer you on can make. Someone else who really believes in you, even, and especially, when you don’t. I’m so grateful for mine! 🙂

i luv the story about u and ur husband!! honestly, in the hopes that i don’t wind up a crazy cat lady, i certainly hope to find a guy just like that and ‘gets’ it!! 🙂 and i think the connection u have with Cec is amazing too…u guys are honestly way too flipping cute!

Cait, I absolutely love this post! I am printing it off to put on my wall. It is so important to know that we can ask for support and have those people in our life who can act as a sounding board, advisory committee and who won’t look at as like we are crazy when we sprout off our plans for world domination through subliminal cupcake bribery (no, of course that wasn’t my plan…).
It is also just as important that they know we are there for them whatever they need, whenever they need it. To have people like that in your life is to be able to look at little pieces of your own soul everyday, and know that it is all going to be okay.
Oh and yes, I quite frequently voice my crazy dreams. Usually to my mother, sister or best friend. I have also become better at reality checking myself though. So that plan to be a stage actress/author/cookery show host/ politician/ organic farmer/ teacher/ dietitian/ tight rope walker has been revised…slightly 🙂

I am so grateful for the pillars of support I’ve been blessed with in my life. I feel like I can tell my mom and sister everything, and often do. But I also feel love and support from all my family and friends too. My husband, Matt, is also one of my biggest cheerleaders, and I try to be one of his too. I’m so glad we have each other while he tackles med school and I tackle…well, I tackle trying to figure out my post-college life. 🙂

I totally agree with you about coaches. I know my coaches were always able to plant a seed of what I could become, and I trusted them enough to then put the work in and make it happen. Knowing others believe in you and your ability makes tackling hard things less scary. I hope I can be this way with others too!

trust me, u certainly help others with motivating them. not just in explicitly telling any one individual, but just DOING what you’re doing and another big part of that is through the blog that u and jess have. talking about the things we all have running through our mind and then going out there and accomplishing your goals speaks volumes.

i really adore just how close u and ur sis are, and it’s so cool to have a kind of built-in ‘partner in crime’ and sounding board. 🙂

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Hello! My name is Cait, I'm a freelance writer, artist, and designer, founder of Ezzere running shirts. I'm more than a little obsessed with running so The Arty Runnerchick is dedicated to connecting with other runners and endorphin-obsessed through words and art! Read more...

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